Walker signed with UGA in December during the early period. He became the first 5-star DT signee of the Kirby Smart era. That was a key in-state recruiting battle that the Bulldogs won last July against Clemson and South Carolina, among others.

It was a huge win for defensive line coach Tray Scott at a position where the Bulldogs have missed out on a top interior defensive line target in each of the previous three cycles.

The rating services trend highly in their assessments of Walker. The pure 247Sports rating slots Walker as the nation’s No. 2 DT and as the nation’s No. 5 overall recruit for 2019.

The 247Sports Composite standard lists him at No. 3 for his position and No. 22 for the class, respectively.

UGA signee Travon Walker competes at an elite level in three different sports at Upson-Lee High School. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)

The 2019 All-American Bowl participant has been an All-State level cog on the hardwood for two straight state basketball titles at Upson-Lee.

The run also featured a win streak that extended to 75 straight games before it was snapped earlier this year.

The 5-star DT plans to report to Athens in late May after his high school graduation.

That will also come after track season. The three-sport athlete also throws the shot put at the state championship level in that discipline, too.

What does the early fit look like for Travon Walker at UGA?

Walker spoke with DawgNation recently about what his first season might look like at UGA. He’s already working and training for college.

He will be following the workouts that will get him ready to acclimate once he enrolls at UGA. His conditioning will be key. That’s why he is doing a lot of running.

Scott has told him an early plan of how he will be used in Athens.

Travon Walker played both DT, DE, ILB, OLB and at QB during his senior season at Upson-Lee High School in Thomaston. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)

“I’m going to come in like a Tyler Clark-type,” Walker said. “Then I can play from inside to outside. So when we play Auburn – a bigger team – I can go to more of a defensive end or [an] outside linebacker type. But most of the time I will be rotating from defensive end to d-tackle.”

The near 6-foot-6, 290-pound Walker has a simple goal for the 2019 season.

“I would have to say my goal for my freshman season would have to be just getting on the field and showing what I can do,” said Walker said, with a tone a young Barry White would appreciate. “Living up to the expectation of being one of the top recruits coming out of high school.”

His athleticism and versatility are highly uncommon for an elite DT recruit.

Walker played both ILB and was also deployed as a “Wildcat” quarterback by Upson-Lee during his senior season of football at Upson-Lee.

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